Carrier
For the Terran Troop Carrier, see [[Mammoth-class Troop Carrier|''Mammoth-class Carrier]].'' |cost=350 250 |buildtime=140|produced=Stargate|req=Fleet Beacon|hotkey=C|groundattack=6|airattack=6|armor=4|range=8|sight=11|cooldown=n\a}} The Carrier is a Protoss heavy air unit. Overview Carriers are large, heavily armored and shielded warships that form the core of the Protoss fleet, serving as command centers for fleet commanders. Although Carriers lack weapon batteries or other armaments of any kind, their ability to unleash swarms of computer controlled Interceptors makes them devastating in ship to ship battle.Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. In addition, the Carrier's hangers can house Scout fighters and even Arbiters.Mesta, Gabriel (July 1, 2001). StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-671-04149-5. Carriers are capable of making jumps through warp spaceGrubb, Jeff (February 27, 2001). StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-671-04148-7. and can operate in both atmospheric and deep space conditions. When not on the bridge, a Carrier commander is entitled to his/her own quarters. "Super Carriers" A relatively rare number of heavily armed carriers exist. One of the most famous of these was the Gantrithor, the flagship of former Executor Tassadar.2007-10-05. Carrier. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-10-05. Game Unit StarCraft ]] The Carrier is more durable and much faster than the Battlecruiser, and the Interceptors have respectable range, making it useful for destroying base defenses such as Missile Turrets and Spore Colonies. Carriers rely on Interceptors to attack. A player should be mindful to keep the Carrier's Interceptor quantity as high as possible at all times, especially in combat when the relatively fragile Interceptors may be destroyed quickly. More Interceptors mean greater damage and, against overworked or inattentive opponents, spread damage over a larger number of units. An Interceptor is automatically repaired upon returning to its Carrier, so forcing a Carrier to recall its Interceptors at opportune moments may help to extend Interceptor life and save resources. Interceptors will self-destruct if their parent Carrier is destroyed. If a Carrier is disabled (for example, through Lockdown), its child Interceptors will return to the Carrier and only resume attacking once the Carrier becomes active again. While a large force of Carriers possesses great firepower, it is not practical to assemble such a force. Carriers are expensive in both time and resources and a skilled opponent will rarely grant the time necessary. There are also a number of cheap ways to nullify a Carrier, or a Carrier force. Terrans benefit from Lockdown. Zerg can overrun Carriers with a force of Hydralisks, Devourers and/or Scourges, the latter being especially effective. Protoss may resort to Psionic Storm, which can easily destroy Interceptors and leave the Carriers vulnerable to attack.Carrier. StarCraft Compendium Protoss Strategy. Accessed 2007-09-10. Abilities * Build Interceptor :Main article: Interceptor **Ability Cost: 25 18 seconds. Upgrades * Air Weapons * Air Armor * Plasma Shields * Carrier Capacity ** Cost: 100 100 ** Upgraded at: Fleet Beacon ** Increases the number of Interceptors the Carrier can hold at once by 4. Quotations : See: StarCraft I Carrier Quotations StarCraft II ]] The Carrier was originally replaced by the Tempest during the development of StarCraft II but was brought back due to "an emotional connection with the original unit."Masterboo. 2007-8-04. BlizzCon 2007 First Protoss Impressions. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2007-12-02. Although it keeps the structural design of the Tempest, the 'light' color scheme has been maintained. There is also the option to set it to produce interceptors automatically.Karune. 2008-04-08. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 34. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-04-08 As of the current build, the Carrier comes with four Interceptors pre-built, which is currently the maximum it may hold. In addition, it may manufacture up to four Escorts. StarCraft: The Board Game pieces.]] Carriers are featured as unit pieces in StarCraft: The Board Game. Known Carriers *''Gantrithor'' *''Qel'Ha'' *''Tempest'' (not to be confused with the Tempest unit). Images Image:Carrier SC1 HeadBord.gif|The Carrier profile in StarCraft I Image:Carrier SC2 Game1.jpg|Three Protoss Carriers attacking a Battlecruiser (StarCraft II) References * Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. Category:StarCraft Protoss units Category: StarCraft II Protoss units Category: Protoss starship classes